Of Demons and Fairies
by Schwan
Summary: Mavis is a half-blooded fairy-human. Zeref is a hybird demon-human. Both are outcasts. Both are mages. Both are in love. Both are revered as gods. Darkness and Light battle each other in a war of love and magic. The story of the two greatest mages in history is one of pain and tragedy and sacrifice, one not soon to be forgotten by its subjects. Inspired by the Hanging Tree.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated anything else recently (this mostly goes to my subscribers, who are probably screaming at me in fury at the moment), but this has been on my mind for a while and I haven't been able to write anything ever since. As I've kind of been wanting to do for a some time, I've FINALLY invented a Fairy Tail story that will actually live, and I think this will be a good one.**

***gasp* The Praetor of the first Legion of Jelly Crabs is actually writing a **_**romance **_**story. AHHH! THE WORLD IS ENDING!**

**XD Sorry.**

**Anways, if you're reading this story, be prepared for long periods of waiting and huge chapters. There's only going to be four chapters in this story, and believe me, their gonna be long. I promise I'll try my best not to disappoint.**

**Here's the prologue. It'll take a while for the first chapter to come out, but I hope this keeps you until then.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

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Prologue

_"I had no reason to come to this age. I'm not an ally to anyone. I'm not an enemy to anyone." __-_Zeref

The ghost of Mavis Vermillion sat atop the roof of the hotel that her guild was staying in, gazing upwards at the stars.

_Lumen Histoire_, she thought, a mix of sorrow and joy filling her at those two words.

She shifted, her long pale blonde hair waving in the wind. With a sigh, she looked back down to earth to see the rest of the guild returning from their swim at Ryuuzetsu Land. Several had their arms hooked around each other's shoulders. Some were hand-in-hand. All of them were smiling and laughing.

Mavis felt a smile grace her lips. This guild was exactly what she had wanted it to become. This was the embodiment of her dream, in a time without war, in a time without darkness. Mavis's dream of Fairy Tail was flourishing.

"First?"

Mavis turned to find herself facing the third master of Fairy Tail…or was it the Seventh? Mavis still hadn't figured it out.

"Third," she greeted cheerfully.

The serious look on his face warned her that the coming conversation would be a serious one. He strolled next to her and climbed over the edge of the building, copying her as he let his legs hang over the edge of the roof.

"First," he said, staring up at the glittering night sky. "Lumen Histoire…it will be important soon, won't it?"

"Yes," Mavis answered, also gazing upward.

He turned slightly to look at her. "Have you felt it?"

Mavis dropped her eyelids a bit in sorrow. "Yes. I have."

He continued to stare at her for another moment before turning again to look at the full moon. They were both silent for a long time before he finally asked, "Are you…okay?"

This was obviously an awkward conversation for him, talking to a girl who appeared no older than him but had been dead for nearly four centuries. Not to mention he knew he was speaking to the one who had founded Fairy Tail in the first place.

Mavis sighed for the third time. "Yes," she repeated, sadly. "I'll be fine. I know what reality has in for us."

He looked at her for a long time again before he said, "Do you know…?"

Mavis smiled sadly. "Yes." That was the fourth time.

He didn't question her further.

They sat there for another long period of silence before he finally stood with a sigh. The loud crashes and bangs had started below.

"I'll have to go stop those brats," he said.

Mavis smiled happily at the love projected through those words.

The Third gazed at her for a long moment before turning away. "Good night, First."

Then he was gone.

Mavis returned to her position of gazing at the constellations in the stars, but this time she pulled her knees up to her chest.

_ Does he know I'm here? _she wondered.

Even after all these years she hadn't forgotten. She hadn't forgotten any of it at all, and she was sure he hadn't either. After all, he had stayed on Tenroujima, right? As long as he could, anyways.

Mavis sighed again, a kind of half-sob coming out with it. She wasn't going to cry. No, but this talk of Lumen Histoire brought back memories that she usually kept hidden deep under the surface.

_Now who does that remind you of? _she asked herself with a snort.

Speaking of that person, Mavis spotted the redheaded woman return from her swim. Her armor gleamed beneath the streetlights as she walked into the hotel and instantly started roaring.

Mavis giggled, remembering a certain mage that she had met once before who was much like Titania. Then her good mood suddenly drained away.

_History repeats itself, _she thought, frowning now. It seemed to have strange patterns. After hearing the story of Erza and Jellal from the Third, Mavis had been painfully reminded of her own life and her own troubles. She just hoped their relationship didn't end as hers had.

_It's been so long since then, _she thought, slowly closing her eyes sorrowfully. _Hasn't it, Zeref?_

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**Hehe. Sorry for the huge AN at the beginning. I just want to say, I know the Mavis's timeline's a bit off *cough* 300 YEARS! *cough* but how about we all pretend Purehito turned out to be three or four centuries old in the Tenrou Arc.**

**Thanks so much for reading, and if you get the chance, review please!**

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_This has been a word of wisdom from the Praetor of the First Legion of Jelly Crabs._


	2. Part 1 PREVIEW

_**READ THIS IT'S IMPORTANT!**_

**Kay, peeps. I tell you this now: THIS IS NOT THE FULL CHAPTER! IT'S A PREVIEW! In fact, this isn't even half of what I have written, and what I have written, isn't even half of the full chapter. I just felt bad because it's been so long and writing this chapter is taking a lot longer than I thought.**

**So yeah, this is only the first nine pages of the chapter. It's pretty much just an introduction. Reviews would be appreciated, but it's okay if you don't since this is only a small part of it. If you do review, I would suggest doing it without signing in because I'd honestly rather have reviews on the full chapter than on this little piece. I WILL be submitting it as the same chapter once I have it all written.**

**Anyways, onto this little short piece!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

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Part 1

The Demon and the Fairy

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**Are you, Are you**

**_Coming to the tree_**

**_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three_**

**_Strange things did happen here_**

**_No stranger would it be_**

**_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree_**

**-The Hanging Tree Verse 1**

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Thirteen-year-old Mavis Vermillion stood and dusted herself off. She looked around.

Trees. Trees, trees, and more trees.

Mavis huffed and glanced above her as the portal to the Fairy World closed with a sharp crackle. The magic circle disappeared, leaving nothing behind.

Unlike Mavis. She had left plenty behind.

Mavis sighed and brushed her hand through her pale blonde hair, remembering her mother's resentful words. Like she hadn't known…

But she had. Mavis had never thought of the Fairy Queen as a liar before, though.

Mavis looked down at herself. At least they had let her keep her royal gown. The pale pink dress could stay clean for a hundred years in the Human World, and the ribbons circling her torso acted as a sort of armor against magic. It was fairy-made.

Again, unlike Mavis. She was only half-fairy. The rest, as her mother put it, was an accident. Apparently, the rest of the kingdom agreed that she should spend the rest of her life with these 'disgraceful creatures' that she so rightfully belonged with.

Mavis sighed and started walking straight forward, her bare feet relishing in the soft green grass. Within moments, the trees were gone and Mavis found herself standing on the edge of a tall cliff overlooking a sprawling city with canals crisscrossing through the mildly tall buildings.

Mavis gazed at the city in awe for a long moment before giggling at the thought of running through the city's many streets.

Still smiling a bit, Mavis fluttered to the roof of a house hugging the side of the rocky cliff. Then she drifted to the ground from there, causing a man nearby to trip and fall. Strolling over to him as he clambered back to his feet, Mavis asked, "What is this place called?"

"Magnolia," the man replied with a tired huff. "Are you…a mage?"

Mavis cocked her head and smiled in answer.

The man's eyes widened before he smiled as well. "Where are you going, young woman?" he questioned.

"Wherever I end up," Mavis replied, brushing past him.

Behind her, the man muttered something that sounded like, "I didn't know nomads could be so adorable."

…

Zeref groaned and leaned back in his wooden chair, making the shabby piece of furniture creak miserably.

"Oy! Zeref!" Cray called from across the long table, bringing Zeref's attention to him. "You game or what?"

Zeref considered the buff man through the smoky air of the tavern for a long moment before he finally sighed. "One more game. Then I'm done."

Cray grinned crookedly. "Sure."

Zeref sighed again as the man began dealing the cards. The mage had gotten quite bad about gambling in the single year since his banishment at age fourteen. To make matters worse, he was terribly unlucky in his winnings.

Of course, that was only natural. He _did _have demon blood flowing through his veins. That mixed with human blood probably made him one of the most unlucky beings in all of the worlds.

The cards were all laid down.

"Screw this," Zeref muttered, pushing his chair back and standing up.

"Sore loser!" Cray called after him.

Zeref grumbled as he headed over to the bar. Climbing up onto one of the wooden stools, he ticked a finger at the tavern keeper, who nodded at him. Zeref grumbled some more as he watched Cray rack in more money.

The tavern keeper quickly finished pouring his warm ale and slid it down the counter to him. Catching it, Zeref slid a gold coin back to him. The man grinned at him, knowing he would most likely drink far into the night.

After all, no one could beat Zeref in a drinking competition. Demons could hold down liquor a lot better than humans could, which made Zeref an expert drinker in this world. Even if it only took three cups of demon ale to knock him on his butt.

Zeref sat there for a very long time, sipping ale from his wooden cup. More and more people came in as the day faded to evening and evening to night. Soon the tavern was filled with music; laughing and dancing people. Cray was still raking in money from a few challengers who were unfortunate enough not to know his luck.

The door opened yet again and Zeref heard bare feet pad across the warm wooden floor over the din of laughter, like the twinkling of bells through the roar of a storm. For some strange reason, the sound seemed important, but Zeref couldn't quite put a finger on why.

Then a small girl wearing a pink flowing gown pulled herself up onto the stool beside him. She had a huge mass of wavy pale blonde hair and fair skin that seemed to glow. Sticking out from either side of her head were two small white wig-like appendages.

She must have felt him staring at her, because she turned toward him. He blue-green eyes gleamed with mystery and she rained a heavenly smile upon his head.

"Hello," she said in a soft voice.

"Hello…" Zeref replied unsteadily.

"What is a boy your age drinking ale for?" she asked him curiously, coking her head to the side.

"What's a girl your age doing at a tavern all by yourself?" Zeref countered.

The girl laughed, a sweet tinkling sound that sent chills up Zeref's spine.

Zeref turned back toward the bar. _'What's wrong with me?' _he asked himself with an inward growl. _'Humans are just weak little things born from my ancestors' hands!'_

_ But _you're _half human! _A voice in the back of his head screamed at him.

"Apple cider, please!" the girl sitting beside him called to the tavern keeper. He slid it down the bar to her, and when she began sipping from it without paying, he frowned and stomped down to the two of them. He held out his hand to the girl. The girl stopped sipping her drink and stared at the man's hand. Then she lifted bewildered eyes to gaze a the man's face.

"Pay up," he grunted, though his eyes became a bit softer after glimpsing her face.

The girl looked startled for a long moment before she sighed and reached into the folds of her dress. "I see," she stated quietly. "That's how you do it, then." Then she pulled a handful of pink and white stones from her gown and lay then on the bar before the tavern keeper. The man stared at them as if they were talking to him.

_'Wait a minute,' _Zeref thought, his eyes widening. _'Those are…"_

"Look here, girl-" the tavern keeper started.

Zeref flipped him a gold coin and he scrambled to catch it. He glared suspiciously at Zeref with narrowed eyes before finally sniffing and slipping it into his pocket, striding away. As soon as the man was out of earshot, Zeref turned to the girl. He sipped on his ale and quietly murmured, "Who are you?"

The girl stared at him for a moment. Then she smiled that incredible innocent smile. "Mavis," she said. "Mavis Vermillion."

Zeref choked on his ale and ended up spitting it back into his cup. He coughed for a long time, pounding his chest with his first. When he finally regained his breath, he stared at the girl Mavis, who was gazing at him with concern.

_'Mavis?' _Zeref thought incredulously. _'As in princess of the Fairies Mavis?' _He glanced up at the small wings sticking out from Mavis's head.

"Mavis," Zeref said aloud. "What are you doing here in the Human World?"

Mavis stared at his curiously. Then she smiled. "I didn't think that humans knew about the Fairy World."

"They don't," Zeref muttered.

"Who?" she asked simply.

"Zeref," he told her, expecting her to scream and get away from him as fast as possible.

Mavis didn't even twitch. She just continued to smile at him as she calmly stated, "You're the Demon Prince."

Zeref nodded. "Yes."

Mavis smiled wider and clapped her hands almost excitedly. "Then there are two of us!" she exclaimed. Then she looked at him. "Why are you here?"

"Why are _you _here?" Zeref replied.

Mavis sighed. "I was banished for being half human."

Zeref felt his eyes widen. "Me too."

Mavis's smile returned, but it was now a gentle, understanding one instead of an excited one. She was about to say something when a quick Celtic tune started up from the players in the corner. Her eyes lit up and she laughed, clapping happily. She hopped out of her chair and darted to the space a few men had opened up to serve as the dance floor.

As Zeref watched, the wiry tune seemed to pick her up. Her eyes closed and a smile overtook her face. Her feet flew around her gracefully, somehow perfectly in time with the beat. Zeref finally managed to yank his eyes from the scene and glanced around the tavern. He realized he wasn't the only one watching. Even some of the dancers had ceased their jigs to stare at the small girl swaying happily to the music.

Finally, the players brought the song to a sudden end and Mavis did what Zeref could only describe as gliding across the floor to him. She was huffing, but her eyes twinkled and she was still smiling. She again sat in the stool beside Zeref and started sipping her apple cider.

"Um," Zeref started hesitantly. "Do fairies…enjoy dancing?"

Mavis smiled at him. "Quite a lot," she answered. "Especially to that type of music."

Zeref nodded and faced forward. "Demon aren't especially fond of dancing," he said quietly.

"That's sad," Mavis declared. "Dancing is a way of expressing yourself, because it is not good to contain too many emotion inside yourself.

Zeref had no answer for that.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and a burst of chilly fall air rushed into the tavern. Everyone went silent as a black-haired man with a braided beard stepped in. As he kicked closed the door behind himself, Zeref noticed the firelight gleam off of the man's metal leg and the huge sword strapped to his back.

"Crap," Zeref muttered, facing forward and hunching his shoulder, sipping quietly on his ale.

Mavis gazed at Zeref confusedly for a long moment before locking her gaze onto the newcomer.

The man's beady red eyes scanned the silent room for a long moment before they locked on Zeref. He smiled mischievously and grunted. Then he headed over to the two of them. He sat heavily on the other stool beside Zeref and called for ale. The tavern keeper passed him the drink without asking for any money.

"So, Zeref," he said as an uneasy din started up again. "You owe me something."

"I swear, I'll pay you in a week," Zeref told him quietly.

"That's what you said last week too," the man said. "And I don't see any money.

"Please Ragnar," Zeref pleaded. "Just give me one more week."

"See, I can't do that," Ragnar said, sighing as he sat back in his chair. "The cap's go stuff he needs to buy, and he can't buy anything without money, can he?"

"I don't have any money," Zeref insisted.

Ragnar raised an eyebrow at the ale in front of Zeref. Zeref just stared him in the eye.

Finally, Ragnar sighed and stood. "Then I'll just have to force it outta' ya.'" With that, he grabbed Zeref's bicep and dragged him out of his chair. Zeref knew the beating that was coming and struggled to gain some grip on his feet or hands to no avail. The entire tavern was staring and silent, but no one dared to stop Ragnar.

Finally, Ragnar yelled, "Stop struggling!" and struck him on the cheek. Zeref crashed to the floor and Ragnar leaned over to heave him back up. Before he could, though, someone tapped his shoulder and he glanced behind him.

**_ZAP!_**

A moment later, Ragnar was on the other side of the room, unconscious. In his place stood Mavis, her palm smoking.

_Fairy magic, _Zeref dimly realized.

Mavis leaned over with a smile on her face and grabbed Zeref's hand, helping him to his feet.

"You shouldn't have done that," Zeref told her, rubbing his cheek where Ragnar had hit him. "He's a dangerous man."

"He was selfish," Mavis replied, her smile suddenly gone.

"…Thank you." The words felt strange on Zeref's tongue.

Her smile came back. "You're welcome."

The two of the returned to their seats and continued to sip their drinks in a comfortable silence while several of the men in the tavern ransacked Ragnar's purses. When the man's eyelids finally started fluttering, Zeref tugged on Mavis's sleeve and the two of them fled the tavern. As they strolled down the lamp lit street, Zeref awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and glanced down at Mavis. The girl was smiling lightly, staring off into space.

Zeref had often heard from his father that fairies were 'airy', for lack of better words, hence the name. Always smiling and happy and floating in their own heads. That was, unless you found their 'bane.' Zeref had no idea what a fairy's 'bane' might be, but he figures it'd have to be something awful.

Zeref finally sighed and said, "Look, I owe you. Why don't you stay at my place fro now?"  
Mavis blinked and looked up at him before her smile grew slightly. "Okay," was all she said.

They continued walking until they came to a shabby apartment complex. Zeref opened the door to one of the bottom apartments and pulled Mavis inside, looking both ways down the street before closing and locking the door.

He could see just fine in the darkness, which was why he hadn't bothered to fix the broken light. But now Mavis was here with no way to see.

A moment after he had that thought, a light suddenly appeared in the corner where Mavis was cradling her magic in her hands. She pushed upwards and the light floated towards the ceiling. Upon impact, the light spread across the surface of the ceiling, giving the room a dim glow. Zeref stared at the ceiling in awe.

"Where…where do you want to sleep?" Zeref asked. "I have a couch and a bed."

"Good night!" Mavis cried, throwing herself onto the couch. The light on the ceiling disappeared.

Zeref cocked one eyebrow and flopped onto the bed. Within moments, he was asleep.

…

Mavis woke up with the sunrise. She sat up and yawned, throwing her arms above her head in a stretch. She glanced around to see Zeref spread-eagle on his bed, still wearing his white sash and black cloak with gold trim.

Mavis hopped off the couch and walked to the door, throwing it open. She then stepped into the sunlight and breathed in deeply, letting the light soak into her face. Then she twirled around with a smile on her face to see Zeref on his feet, yawning and rubbing his eyes, red and ringed with black..

"Good morning!" Mavis chirped, sweeping back into the apartment.

"Morning," Zeref moaned, scratching his head through his black hair. He tiredly padded over to a cooler in the back corner of the apartment. "What you wanna eat?"

Mavis trotted over and immediately gasped, leaping at a certain package of food. She hugged it to her chest tightly before crashing onto the couch and placing it beneath her head, closing her eyes as she opted to go to sleep once more.

Zeref stared for a moment before walking over to her and yanking it out from beneath her head. "Don't use my loaf of bread as a pillow," he grumbled. "It's the only one I've got."

Mavis's eyes lit up, showing no sign that she was bothered in the least by Zeref stealing the loaf away from her. "That's bread?" she asked.

Zeref looked at her exasperatedly over his shoulder. "Yes, it's bread."

Mavis leaped to her feet and gasped in delight. Then she furrowed her brow and walked over to look over Zeref's shoulder at the bread as he slapped a piece of meat and a slice of cheese onto one piece before chomping into it.

Mavis watched him eat. "That is a strange color for bread," she remarked.

"Oh yeah?" Zeref said, glancing at her, mouth full. "What's the color of the bread in the Fairy World?"

"Pink," Mavis stated, as if it should be obvious.

Zeref rolled his eyes. Of course.

Mavis tentively poked the loaf of bread that was left sitting on the table, as if it might come to life and bite her. After another minute of prodding, she finally deemed it safe and all but poured the entire loaf into her mouth.

"Hey!" Zeref cried, practically choking on his half-sandwich. "What are you-"

Then the loaf was gone.

Mavis sighed in content before staring at the empty plastic package in wonder. She slipped it over her arm and waved it around like it was a flag.

Zeref stared.

He stared for a very long time before finally asking, "Mavis, how old are you?"

"Hm?" Mavis said distractedly, not even looking at him. "Oh, thirteen."

_Ah, _Zeref thought. _That explains._

His father had once told him that fairies didn't really start maturing until fourteen, and that they were also a lot older than they looked. Mavis looked to be twelve, but since fairies never lied, Zeref was pretty sure he could trust Mavis. But then again, she probably knew next to nothing about the human world. Zeref had been equally clueless before Ragnar had taken him into the town's magic guild and sorted him out.

Zeref shook himself out of his musings to see that Mavis had stopped waving her arm around and was now just standing stiff as a post, staring off into space.

"Mavis," he said. No answer. "Mavis!"

Still no answer.

Zeref sighed and stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. "Hey, Mavis."

Mavis's soul suddenly seemed to return and she stared at him with slightly unfocused eyes. "Hm?"

"Come on," Zeref said. "Since we're both half human, we have a bit of a debt to each other. I'm going to show you around town. The more you know about the Human World, the better."

Mavis instantly perked up, a smile on her face. "Okay!"

…

"And that's the tavern we were at last night," Zeref finished, pointing.

Mavis simply nodded, smiling.

"Well," Zeref said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "That's the town, but Magnolia is only a small part of the human world, and I mean _small._"

"So tell me about the world," Mavis said, blinking innocently.

Zeref rubbed the back of his head. "See, it's not so simple…" He glanced at Mavis's curious eyes, looking away quickly. "…But I'll try my best."

"I'll start with magic," he said after a long pause. "Not everyone can use magic here like they can in our worlds. Only a few people can use magic, and theirs' is more diverse than the magic we have in our worlds. Some need items to use their magic and others don't. Some are really powerful and some aren't. Most people of just normal human and can't use any magic, though."

Mavis nodded patiently, absorbing every word.

"Let's see…they use a special currency in the human world called coins," Zeref said, remembering the incident with the tavern keeper last night. "Oh! And the humans separate themselves into parts called countries. The country we're in right now is called Fiore, and it's ruled by a king. Right now, nobody really likes the king because he's running the whole of Fiore into the ground, but that's not really our problem."

Mavis only continued to nod.

Suddenly, there was a roar above them and a shadow passed over the town. Out of the corner of his eyes, Zeref saw the sun glint off of a dozen shiny red scales. Acting quickly, he grabbed Mavis's sleeve and pulled her with him into the shadow of an alley just to their right. Beside them was a man with a dagger, looking as if he was ready to mug any unlucky whelp who happened to stroll in here, but at the moment, he was too busy cowering to do anything.

Zeref peeked around the corner of the building he had his back to, keeping a hand on Mavis's arm to keep her from moving. A hundred yards down the street, stark white claws closed around one unfortunate man and lifted him up into the air, screaming. The shadow lifted, and within moments, the man's voice had faded away.

Zeref sighed in relief and stepped out of the alley as quickly as he could, suddenly remembering the man with the dagger standing beside him and Mavis. Zeref walked briskly past the next couple of alleys before finally slowing his pace when he was sure the man wasn't following them. He glanced down at Mavis.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth in an 'o', and her hands clenched tightly behind her back. "What was that?" she asked quietly.

"A dragon," Zeref said. "Wherever you go, you'll have to be careful about that. They swoop down and carry off the humans for food, and they won't hesitate to do the same to you. Their magic is usually too strong to fight them off much, especially when _they're _the ones carrying you."

Mavis remained silent.

"Here we are," Zeref said, stopping in front of a wooden building with a red banner featuring an orange lizard pinned to the front. "Lizard's Scale."

"What's this place?" Mavis questioned.

"It's what the humans call a magical guild," Zeref explained. "A guild usually watches over the town it inhabitants. Since the humans have such a low magical population, they sort themselves into groups they call guilds. These guilds are considered both special and powerful. You remember that guy who you beat up last night?"

Mavis nodded.

"He's from this guild. Believe it or not, he took me in when I was first banished and explained how things work in the human world. He tried to recruit me into the guild, but I didn't want to draw any more attention, so I rejected, and the guild's been bugging me ever since."

"I see…" Mavis murmured.

"Come on, we'd better get out of here," Zeref said. "Ragnar will remember the both of us, and I'd rather not get caught in a magical firefight."

Mavis nodded and followed after him, absently staring past him. The two of the them walked into the market, the streets suddenly crowded with people. Zeref grabbed Mavis's arm and pushed through the throngs of people until they arrived at their destination: one wooden stand with the rich smell of frying dough exuding from it. Zeref pulled Mavis to the door of a building just behind the stand. Then he headed inside, closing the door behind them.

Zeref finally let go of Mavis's arm and took a few steps into the dark, smoky room. Suddenly, there was a yell of "Thief!" and a book came flying at Zeref's head. Zeref barely managed to knock it away with his hand.

"It's me, Zeref!" he cried.

"Oh," a hunched elderly woman with snow-white hair stepped out of the darkness with a little smile on her face. "Silly me." She walked to Zeref and patted his cheek. "I'm sorry, Zeref, dear."

"It's fine, Mrs. Harrington," Zeref replied. "Any deliveries today?"

"Ah, yes!" Mrs. Harrington cried, holding a finger up into the air. She disappeared into the darkness of her apartment before waddling back a minute later with a huge basket in hand. "Business is busy these days!" she exclaimed, dropping the heavy basket into Zeref's arms.

"Yes, Mrs. Harrington," Zeref said politely. He turned to explain to Mavis what they were doing, only to see that she had drifted off again.

Zeref sighed and trudged over to her. Then he cried into her ear, "Mavis!"

Mavis did this tiny little hop, startled. She looked at him. "Hm?"

Zeref would've slapped his forehead if he hadn't been carrying this huge basket. "We're going to deliver these to some houses," he explained, trying to keep his voice steady. "Come on."

Mavis nodded slightly, but not before turning and curtsying to Mrs. Harrington, whom had her head cocked to one side. The old woman clasped her hands together and gasped in pleasure, nodding back. Mavis smiled as she and Zeref exited the apartment.

As the two half-bloods pushed through the crowds again, Zeref asked, "What was that?"

"Hm?" Mavis said distractedly. Then she realized what he was talking about. "Oh! In my world, the elders deserve the utmost respect."

Zeref nodded and blew air from his mouth, thinking that the very opposite happened in the human world.

"So, why must you do this?" Mavis asked curiously, pointing at the basket in his arms.

Zeref looked at her exasperatedly. Then he sighed. "Look, here in the Human World, everyone isn't just loaned money like in the Fairy World. They have to work to earn it, and you get work from jobs. My job is delivering for a couple of the merchants around town. That's what this basket is for."

"I see," Mavis said. "Humans are very strange."

Zeref felt his mouth quirk up in a half-smile. "Tell me about it."

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**I am currently working on the rest. I already have 22 pages (this was the first 9 pages) and I don't even think I'm halfway done. Thank you for being patient! I'll try to get the rest out soon!**

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_This has been a word of wisdom from the Praetor of the First Legion of Jelly Crabs. We are sad to inform you that the Praetor has recently come down with Weaver Syndrome and is expected to fall into a state of Writing Fury within the next two weeks. Please stand by and await further news._


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